Apparatus, system and method for dispensing incontinence products

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for dispensing incontinence products includes a base defining a base axis and having an internal chamber, and a support disposed within the internal chamber of the base. The support is arranged to support at least two incontinence products in superposed relation. The support is dimensioned and adapted to translate within the internal chamber along the base axis to direct the incontinence products toward an access opening associated with the base to permit individual and/or sequential removal of the incontinence products through the access opening by the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/583,017 filed on Jan. 4, 2012. The entire contents of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus, system and methodfor dispensing incontinence products such as infant, juvenile or adultdiapers, briefs pads and/or pull ups.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, anapparatus for dispensing incontinence products includes a base defininga base axis and having an internal chamber, and a support disposedwithin the internal chamber of the base. The support is arranged tosupport at least two incontinence products in superposed relation. Thesupport is dimensioned and adapted to translate within the internalchamber along the base axis to direct the incontinence products towardan access opening associated with the base to permit individual and/orsequential removal of the incontinence products through the accessopening by the user.

The apparatus may include a biasing member in operative engagement withthe support, and dimensioned to bias the support to translate along thebase axis toward the access opening. The biasing member may include aspring disposed in operative engagement with the support member. As afurther alternative, first and second springs may be in operativeengagement with the support member and cooperate to bias the supportmember toward the access opening.

A lid may be mounted to the base and defines a lid aperture, whichserves as the access opening. The lid may be adapted to move between anopen position to permit loading of the internal chamber of the base withincontinence products and a closed position to substantially enclose theinternal chamber. The lid may be pivotally mounted to the base, and beadapted to pivot between the open position and the closed position.

The apparatus may include a plurality of incontinence products arrangedin superposed relation within the internal chamber of the base. Eachincontinence product may be folded and define at least a first edge. Thefirst edge is positioned in general alignment with the access opening toface the opening to thereby facilitate grasping of the incontinenceproduct by the user. The incontinence product also may be folded todefine at least first and second edges. The first and second edges maybe in juxtaposed relation and positioned in general alignment with theaccess opening also to face the opening.

The apparatus may include a package having an outer cover and aplurality of incontinence products in superposed relation within theouter cover. The outer cover may be removable to permit removal of theincontinence products for positioning within the internal chamber of thebase. Each incontinence product within the package may be folded and hasat least a first edge with the first edges of the products facing in thesame direction within the package. Each incontinence product within thepackage further may be folded to provide at least first and second edgesbeing in juxtaposed relation and positioned in the same direction withinthe package.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a packagefor use with a dispenser includes an outer cover and a plurality ofabsorbent incontinence products at least partially enclosed by the outercover. Each incontinence product may be folded upon itself to define afolded incontinence product having at least one edge exposed outwardlyof the folded incontinence product. At least some of the foldedincontinence products may be arranged in superposed relation with the atleast one edge facing in the same direction within the outer cover. Eachfolded incontinence product has at least first and second edges exposedoutwardly of the folded incontinence product with at least some of thefolded incontinence products arranged in superposed relation with thefirst and second edges facing in the same direction within the outercover.

Other embodiments are also envisioned.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be betterunderstood by reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus for dispensingincontinence products in accordance with the principles of the presentdisclosure, illustrating the base, the lid and incontinence productsaccessible through a lid aperture of the lid;

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 illustrating thelid in an open position;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1illustrating the internal chamber of the base, the support, and thebiasing springs;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the incontinence product for use with theapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the incontinence product folded inaccordance with an alternate method of the present disclosure

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating removal of the incontinence product ofFIG. 7 through the lid aperture of the lid;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a package incorporating a plurality ofincontinence products for use with the apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view of an alternate embodiment of theapparatus of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1-4, there is illustrated the dispensing apparatus10 for storing and dispensing incontinence products 100 in an individualand/or sequential manner in accordance with the principles of thepresent disclosure. The design of the dispensing apparatus 10 may be afurniture item which is aesthetically pleasing and non-obtrusive to theroom in which it is stored, e.g., in a hospital setting, residentialsetting or any health care facility. The dispensing apparatus 10includes a base 12, a lid 14 mounted to the base 12, and at least oneincontinence product 100 contained within the internal chamber 16 of thebase 12. Preferably, a plurality of incontinence products 100 aredisposed and arranged in superposed relation within the internal chamber16 of the base 12 as will be discussed. The base 12 may be generallyrectangular in shape having front, rear and side walls 12 f, 12 r and 12s and base bottom 12 b. Other shapes for the base 12 are envisioned. Thebase 12 defines a base axis “b” (FIG. 2) which may be a vertical axiswhen the base 12 is placed on a horizontal surface such as a floor orcounter top.

The lid 14 is pivotally mounted to the base 12 and is adapted to pivotbetween a closed position depicted in FIG. 1 enclosing the incontinenceproducts 100 and an open position depicted in FIG. 3 permitting accessto the chamber 16 within the base 12 to permit selective reloading ofnew incontinence products 100 as desired. At least once hinge 18 isconnected to the lid 14 and the base 12, and establishes the pivot axisabout which the lid 14 pivots. Other means for mounting the lid 14 tothe base 12 are also envisioned. It is further contemplated that the lid14 may be releasably mounted to the base 12, and completely removed fromthe base 12 to permit access to the internal chamber 16 of the base 12.Clasps, locks or a tolerance fit established between the base 12 and thelid 14 may be used to permit this removable mounting capability. Thebase 12 and the lid 14 may further include a locking mechanism toreleasably secure the lid 14 in the closed position of FIG. 1. Onelocking mechanism may be a magnetic locking clasp 20 (FIG. 3) mounted tothe underside of the lid 14, which cooperates with a magnetic lockingclasp 22 on the face of the front base wall 12 f. Other clasparrangements including mechanical locks, hooks or the like are alsoenvisioned.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-4, the lid 14 includes a central lidaperture 24 of general rectangular shape although other shapes areenvisioned. At about the center of the lid aperture 24 are opposedrecesses 26. The recesses 26 may be arcuate in shape. The recesses 26provide additional room for the user to place his/her fingers whenaccessing the central lid aperture 24 during grasping of theincontinence product 100 for removal.

The base 12 and the lid 14 may be formed from any rigid materialincluding metal, wood and/or molded polymeric material.

With reference now to FIG. 5, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-4, disposedwithin the internal chamber of the base 12 is a mechanism forautomatically and sequentially feeding the incontinence products 100toward the lid 14 for removal through the central lid aperture 24. Inone embodiment, the mechanism includes an internal support 28 and atleast one, two or even more springs 30 mounted to the bottom of the base12 and engaging the lower side of the support 28. The springs 30 may besecured to both the bottom of the base 12 and the support 28 throughconventional means, including, e.g., welding, soldering, adhesives orthe like. The effective spring constant of the springs 30 is selected tocontinuously urge the support 28 in the vertical direction along thebase axis “b” even in the presence of a stacked set of incontinenceproducts 100. The springs 30 may be coiled spring arrangements. Othermeans for urging or biasing the support 28 are envisioned includingresilient elastomers, hydraulics, etc. The support 28 may be rectangularin configuration corresponding in dimension to the internal area of thechamber of the base 12. In use, the top incontinence product 100adjacent the lid 14 is removed via access through the central lidaperture 24 whereby, upon removal, the next incontinence product 100immediately beneath the removed product 100 is presented to the lidaperture 24 via the biasing effect of springs 30 relative to support 28for subsequent removal.

With reference to FIG. 6, in conjunction with FIG. 1, an incontinenceproduct 100 for use with the apparatus 100 will be discussed. Theincontinence product 100 may be any commercially available incontinenceproduct such as the incontinence pad or diaper disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 7,201,743 or 7,727,214, the entire contents of each disclosure beingincorporated by reference herein. The incontinence product 100 or diapermay includes a front area 102, a rear area 104, and a center area 106disposed between the front and rear areas 102, 104. The center area 106comes to rest in a crotch region of the user. Closure means 108 in theform of, e.g., adhesive tape or VELCRO may be provided on longitudinaledges to adapt the diapers to the patient.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the incontinenceproducts 100 are arranged in superposed or stacked relation fordisposition within the internal chamber of the base 12. The stackedrelation is depicted in FIG. 5. The incontinence products 100 may bestacked such that each back or external sheet 110 faces upwardly towardthe lid aperture 24 of the lid 14. The incontinence products 100 areremoved individually by grasping one or more of the external sheet ofthe upper most incontinence product 100 and removing same through thecentral lid aperture 24. Upon removal of the upper most incontinenceproduct 100, the incontinence product 100 immediately beneath theremoved product 100 is presented to the lid aperture 24 via the biasingeffect of springs 30 relative to support 28 as discussed hereinabove.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, theincontinence products of diaper 100 may be folded along fold lines “f1”,“f2” (FIG. 6) to divide the diaper in thirds as seen in FIG. 7. In thisorientation, the diaper 100 is loaded within the internal chamber 16 ofthe base 12. A plurality of diapers 100 may be stacked within theinternal chamber 16 in this configuration. The folded diaper willaccordingly orient the peripheral longitudinal edges 112 along themidline of the diaper, which when positioned within the internal chamberwill be generally aligned with the central lid aperture 24 of the lid14. The edge or edges 112 provide an area which the clinician mayreadily grasp to remove the diaper 100 from the base 12 as shown in FIG.8. As an alternative, the backing sheet may have a handle 250 (as shownin FIG. 1) which is presented to the lid aperture 24. The handle 250 maybe any loop member, tab or element secured to the backing sheet byconventional means including bonding, adhesives or the like.

The present disclosure is also directed to a kit incorporating thedispensing apparatus 10 pre-loaded with a plurality of incontinenceproducts 100 arranged in the stacked manner in accordance with any ofthe embodiments discussed hereinabove.

With reference to FIG. 9, the present disclosure also contemplates areplacement package 300 filled with the stacked incontinence products100. Once the dispenser apparatus 10 is empty, the lid 14 can be movedto the open position. A new set of incontinence products 100 are removedfrom the package 300 and loaded within the internal chamber 16 of thebase 12. The package 300 may include an outer wrapping or cover 302which contains the incontinence products 100 arranged in the stackedmanner with at least one edge outwardly exposed and facing in the samedirection as discussed in connection with any of the embodiments and/ormethodologies.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the dispenser apparatusof FIG. 1. Dispenser apparatus 400 is intended to be mounted to avertical surface such as a wall or door “w”. Any means for mounting thedispenser apparatus 400 are envisioned including screws, fasteners orthe like. In one embodiment, fasteners or hooks 402 mounted to the wall“w” extend within corresponding apertures within the back 404 a of base404 to mount the base 404 to the wall. In accordance with thisembodiment, the support 406 is adapted to translate along a base axis“b” which may be parallel to the floor, e.g., horizontal. In addition,the base 404 defines a front face 408 which has the access opening 410defined therein for removal of the stored incontinence products 100. Ahorizontal lid 412 is mounted to the back wall 404 a of the base 404 viaa pivot pin 414 or the like and can pivot in the direction ofdirectional arrows “y” between open and closed positions to permitloading of the base 404 with the incontinence products 100. A pair ofcoil springs 416 will bias the support 406 toward the front face 408 andthe access opening 410 to advance the forward most product 100 towardthe access opening 410. The incontinence products 100 are arranged injuxtaposed relation possibly with at least one edge of the products 100facing the access opening 410 (as described in the embodiment of FIG. 7)for engagement by the user.

Although the illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure havebeen described herein with reference to the accompanying attachments,the above description, disclosure, and figures should not be construedas limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments.It is to be understood, therefore, that the disclosure is not limited tothose precise embodiments, and that various other changes andmodifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for dispensing incontinenceproducts, which comprises: a base defining a base axis and having aninternal chamber; and a support disposed within the internal chamber ofthe base, the support arranged to support at least two incontinenceproducts in superposed relation, the support dimensioned and adapted totranslate within the internal chamber along the base axis to direct theincontinence products toward an access opening associated with the baseto permit sequential removal of the incontinence products through theaccess opening by the user.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1including a biasing member in operative engagement with the support, thebiasing member dimensioned to bias the support to translate along thebase axis toward the access opening.
 3. The apparatus according to claim2 wherein the biasing member includes a spring, the spring disposed inoperative engagement with the support member.
 4. The apparatus accordingto claim 3 including first and second spring in operative engagementwith the support member and cooperating to bias the support membertoward the access opening.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 2including a lid mounted to the base, the lid defining a lid aperture,the lid aperture being the access opening.
 6. The apparatus according toclaim 5 wherein the lid is adapted to move between an open position topermit loading of the internal chamber of the base with incontinenceproducts and a closed position to substantially enclose the internalchamber.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the lid ispivotally mounted to the base, and is adapted to pivot between the openposition and the closed position.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1including a plurality of incontinence products arranged in superposedrelation within the internal chamber of the base.
 9. The apparatusaccording to claim 1 including a package, the package including an outercover and a plurality of incontinence products in superposed relationwithin the outer cover, the outer cover being removable to permitremoval of the incontinence products for positioning within the internalchamber of the base.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein eachincontinence product is folded upon itself to define a foldedincontinence product having at least one edge exposed outwardly of thefolded incontinence product.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10wherein at least some of the folded incontinence products are arrangedin superposed relation with the at least one edge facing in the samedirection within the outer cover.
 12. The apparatus according to claim12 wherein each folded incontinence product has at least first andsecond edges exposed outwardly of the folded incontinence product withat least some of the folded incontinence products arranged in superposedrelation with the first and second edges facing in the same directionwithin the outer cover.